I am like many homeowners on this forum who come on here to get guidance about products that our contractors direct us to.

Just for a little groundwork, I live in North Jersey and my house faces due south. I am a new homeowner and have been pretty budget conscious as this house has given me many more problems than I’d like to admit. After being burned by a landscape contractor, I’m pretty skeptical of everyone I deal with and the products they offer.(hence the research) Anyway, I am having 13 windows, one 11x5 picture window, 3 basement windows and a sliding glass door to my patio replaced for $10,300.(all windows and doors are 25yrs & older)

My contractor has a great reputation in the area (I have personally seen his work on siding and windows) and quoted me Viwinco products.(models unknown). Am I getting the best product for my money? As a first time homebuyer, it seems like a lot of money, and let’s face it, the reviews on this website of Viwinco products are not stellar. Are there better windows in the same price point? Should I ask for comparisons with other brands? Are their particular phrases or points that I should look out for? I’m not trying to be cheap, but like I said, I’m a first time homebuyer. Any information that you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Viwinco are on the lower end , similar to other lower end brands such as MI Windows , excalibur ,and Silverline . Lower quality from both an engineering perspective as well as performance. Problem with alot of contractors is they know nothing about quality and only install whatever happens to be sold in their supply house or choose to use the cheapest products.If you plan on living in your home more than a few years, i would recommend something of a much better design. Some higher end brands are okna windows, sunrise, himark ,and soft lite. The price point may be similar or less than what you currently have. These windows not only look nice but are designed very well and will last decades.A great starting point when evaluating a window are the following:This example is double pane.UFactor - .28 or lowerDP Rating ( structural) 50 or higherAir leakage rate - .07 or lowerThese 3 numbers can give you a good idea as to how well a window is made. Obviously a proper installation is equally important.

Moodawg,You need to do your research, and you have started.Above mstrext name is a clickable "Get a Quote" button. He is a super pro who knows good, better and best products. You need to hit the button and have him look at your job with you.+1 to his comments.Thewindownerd.

Can you provide some more details on the installation type, requirements, etc?

Viwinco is not well regarded as one of the more upper crust windows and if you are going to spend in the range of that kind of money, I think you should be getting something in the HiMark, Soft-Lite, Sunrise, Okna category.

WoW, I don't know what kind of window requirements you might be referring to. The house is a split level built in 1955 and I believe the windows are original to the house. If they were replaced once before, it must've been 30-40 years ago. I do plan on living here(purchased 3 years ago) for a while. The current windows are really drafty, hard to open and the sills are rotten. The wife is allergic to pollen, so they won't be open all that much throughout the year. We basically need them to keep the heat out in the summer and the cold in the winter.

Masterext, the Viwinco windows seem to be .30 UV, and the air infiltration is either .09 or .06. Not sure what I'm looking at. I'm guessing I'm getting an inferior product and I'll have to ask about other window options. Thanks for answering my questions.

One of my local suppliers were pushing ViWinco but it was cheap looking and felt flimsy ; i saw both the cambridge and edgemont. With so many better quality brands, its just not a window i feel comfortable offering. The Okna, Sunrise, and soft lite are just so much better and nicer.

First off, I just want to let everyone know that this review is a long time coming. I have a very busy job and every time I try to sit down to write a something about the work that was done to my home, something comes up… So my apologies to Paul and AGM Windows and Siding.

AGM W & S, that Paul represents, did a great job at installing Okna 800 windows back in June 2012, right after I asked for assistance on this forum. He contacted me right away and did a pretty decent presentation at my house. He brought in a sample window and the difference between Okna and the Viwinco window sample that the previous contractor had left behind was night and day. You can totally tell the difference in how much more solidly it was built than the Viwinco…. Anyway, Paul’s guys did a quick installation, cleaned everything up and left me with nothing to complain about. A couple of my windows had rot around the framing and they easily ripped out the rotten wood and replaced everything and covered it with insulation and flashing. We had 13 white double hung windows, 3 casement windows in the basement and one big bow window installed, all of them with colonial style grids. We as well as our neighbors absolutely love the 11x5 bow window that we picked out. It utterly transformed the front of our house from an ugly split to one of the nicest looking houses on the block. We could not have been happier with our choice of window.

Now, to tell you the truth, I kinda wanted to wait a few weeks to see how the installation really went before I commented about the windows. (funny enough, I waited almost 9 months) One thing I noticed immediately was that the new windows completely cut out the noise I was used to hearing from outside. I live 3 doors down form a major road and I was used to hearing trucks, buses, loud motorcycles, regular car traffic and the occasional airplane. I hear nothing of the sort now. I mean, like it made it eerily quiet. These windows are so quiet that during Hurricane Sandy, I actually commented to my wife that I didn’t think that the storm was as bad as the news was making it out to be since we couldn’t hear a thing inside the house. Well, that was the case until we saw transformers blowing up all around us and the power went out... Anyway, the windows held up awesomely and weren’t drafty at least one bit during the storm with 70+ mph winds. (Believe me, I checked) We are thoroughly impressed by the windows.

I was and I still am pleased with my purchase and the installation. Manny (Paul’s team leader) and the guys did a great job and ensured that I was happy with everything about the installation. I would absolutely use these guys again and I absolutely recommend them to anyone who is in the market for new vinyl windows in the Northern New Jersey area. Okna windows are the real deal and their price is not much more than the much more inferior and cheaper (not by much) Viwinco windows that I was originally considering. (I was quoted $9,600 for the cheap Viwinco Edgmemont Series and just over $12K for the Okna Envirostars) I am honestly glad that I found this forum when I did because it enabled me to make the right decision that will continue to prove it to me in the long term. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time. I’ll send you pics if you want. Oh, and Paul's price also included a sliding glass door for my patio, which was extra on the Viwinco quote.

This may be long winded, but I hope that I helped someone make a tough decision just a little bit easier.

Thank you for sharing with the candor that you did and with some real time to evaluate your observations are so much more valuable.Paul and AGM, what a great job you guys do, there may be hope for our industry yet.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum